Hi, I'm about to pull the trigger on a 2014 Superb Estate 1.6 TDi S. It has 107K on it and had the cambelt done a couple of years ago at 80K. I looked at the car today and it suits my needs very well and we bargained the price to a very reasonable £4450. The only issue I noticed was the top of the fuel filter was wet. Not sure if it was fuel or overspill from the windscreen fluid which the chap said he filled that day. Looking online it appears that fuel filters with these cars can be problematic and require software to get fuel in and prime after the filter has been changed. I didn't see any fuel running down the sides of the filter and it was gathered in the cup where the four fuel lines attach. These have clips which all looked to be in place. My top was pretty rusty so perhaps there is a pinprick leak and the fuel is coming from the housing up through that leak and gathering in the top of the housing. That or perhaps one of the pipes has hardened and is not sealing or isn't clamped properly. I'm fine with paying a garage to put a new housing and filter in as I think the price of the car warrants some niggles but my real issue and question to you all is will this have caused damage to DPFs or any other parts. I'm going to look again and probably purchase tomorrow so any help would be very useful. The car started fine, it was warm though, and drove very well. No warning lights and pulled well through the gears and ticked over as you would want and expect. Thanks in advance

The only information I can provide is the early cars like my 05 Octavia suffered from a rusted top/lid fuel filter housing. The design of these was/is a different material to the later ones which seemed to go from a black painted metal to a more stainless steel type design. 

The main failing is this component is the top becomes a water trap which then rusts and leads to its early demise.

Mine eventually spring a leak where one of the metal pipes joins into the lid. I replaced with a close matching used unit for about £35. 

The new cost of the filter housing  leads into several hundreds of ponds without fitting. It might be worth pricing one up. The other thing is Skoda for several different versions to cars ie the UFI or Mann version. Even TPS don’t know if ordering a filter off your chassis number. 

There is also a risk of damage if any fuel leaks onto the cambelt to your engine and perhaps slipping of the fan belt. 

 

Beat advice check if it’s water or fuel. You can miss the aroma of diesel. 

 

Ps a poorly fitted filter and sealing ring can so cause leaks, plus a bent/mis- aligned lid. 

 

 

Thanks, that confirms everything I have read. I'll try and see if it is water or diesel but I don't have a sense of smell. I'll also take a torch and have a good look at the Aux belt. I'd looked at ebay so can see lots of used units and my plan will be to do the same as you did and buy a second hand replacement and fit myself.

 

Thanks to @gav_is_con for the help. The Superb is now mine. The damp patch on the fuel filter lid was water and after giving it a decent wipe it only has some mild surface rust. I've waited a long time for a new car and for a Superb cheap enough for me to justify and new enough that I should be able to keep it for a good few years all being well. So far all I have found that is an issue is a crackly passenger side speaker, intermittent and a heater that only worked on number 4. I got a new heater resistor to fix that and will monitor to see if the issue is caused elsewhere and blowing the resistor. I changed the pollen filter which was pretty rank and that has improved the airflow so that is all good and for less than 30 quid combined.

I'll take a look at the speaker when I get more time. I also managed to get the bluetooth set up and that is working fine too but the volume when you hit the voice button is way too loud. Not sure if that can be changed but I'll have a good look.

Thanks again Gav

1 hour ago, wookie67070 said:

Thanks to @gav_is_con for the help. The Superb is now mine. The damp patch on the fuel filter lid was water and after giving it a decent wipe it only has some mild surface rust. I've waited a long time for a new car and for a Superb cheap enough for me to justify and new enough that I should be able to keep it for a good few years all being well. So far all I have found that is an issue is a crackly passenger side speaker, intermittent and a heater that only worked on number 4. I got a new heater resistor to fix that and will monitor to see if the issue is caused elsewhere and blowing the resistor. I changed the pollen filter which was pretty rank and that has improved the airflow so that is all good and for less than 30 quid combined.

I'll take a look at the speaker when I get more time. I also managed to get the bluetooth set up and that is working fine too but the volume when you hit the voice button is way too loud. Not sure if that can be changed but I'll have a good look.

Thanks again Gav

Welcome to the Superb club!

 

Keep an eye on the fuel filter lid. Mine was past the point of no return, I tried layers of Kurust, this only delayed the inevitable and it sprung a leak eventually. The risk to the rest of the car ie engine is too great to ignore. 

 

 

Will do. It will get a really good clean and some rust protector in the next week or two

Ours was the same when we picked it up. Will be doing much the same. Poor design and would be rectified if they angled it or simply didn’t have a donut shape in the top to fill with water.